System and method for managing projects

ABSTRACT

A method and system for managing a project. The method and system comprise accepting at least two project templates from a database, wherein the project database contains personal project templates and work project templates categorized by type of project. A start date and/or an end date for each project template may be accepted. Information related to each project template may be automatically generated. The information related to all project templates may be aggregated and a user may access the information related to all project templates from one user interface.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based on and derives the benefit of the filing dateof U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/501,606, filed Jun. 27,2011. The entire content of this application is herein incorporated byreference in its entirety.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1A illustrates a system for project management, according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 1B illustrates details of the project management system, accordingto one embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for utilizing projecttemplates, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates a method for using project ad word intelligence,according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates a method for utilizing meetings, according to anembodiment.

FIG. 5 illustrates a method for utilizing a notebook option, accordingto an embodiment.

FIG. 6 illustrates a method for utilizing a project timeline feature,according to an embodiment.

FIG. 7 illustrates a method for utilizing a conversation managementfeature, according to an embodiment.

FIGS. 8-32 are screen shots illustrating various features of the projectmanagement system, according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1A illustrates a system 100, which can include, but is not limitedto: a client 101 and a third party service 104 communicating with aserver 116 over a network 102 utilizing a project management system 103.The project management system 103 may run utilizing server 116. Thenetwork 102 may comprise an Internet and/or an intranet. The client 101and server 116 may comprise a computer. A computer may be anyprogrammable machine capable of performing arithmetic and/or logicaloperations. In some embodiments, computers may comprise processors,memories, data storage devices, and/or other commonly known or novelcomponents. These components may be connected physically or throughnetwork or wireless links. Computers may be referred to with terms thatare commonly used by those of ordinary skill in the relevant arts, suchas servers, PCs, mobile devices, and other terms. It will be understoodby those of ordinary skill that those terms used herein areinterchangeable, and any computer capable of performing the describedfunctions may be used. For example, though the term “server” may appearin the following specification, the disclosed embodiments are notlimited to servers. The third party service 104 can include, but is notlimited to: Google, Facebook, Linked In, Expedia, Rosetta Stone, Angie'sList, or any combination thereof. Those of ordinary skill in the artwill see that any service can be utilized as a third party service 104.

FIG. 1B sets forth details of the project management system 103,according to an embodiment. Available project templates 104 may beselected and displayed on a user home page using a user interface 114which communicates with APIs 113. For example, a user home page isillustrated in FIG. 8. When creating a project, the user can select theoption to use a project template manager 120. As shown in FIG. 30, theproject template manager 120 may allow the user to search, browse, anddownload templates from a catalog of templates. Some of these templatesmay be “sponsored templates” from 3rd parties that may includepredefined tasks, calendar events, files, people resources, and asbusiness logic and dynamic links to third party sites, services, andresources. A project template 115 may be stored in database 116, or maybe otherwise accessible by project management system 103. Projecttemplate 115 may comprise a pre-defined set of information andparameters.

For example, the project template 115 may comprise: predefined tasks106; predefined milestones 108; or predefined decisions 109; or anycombination thereof. Tasks 106 may be a predefined list of items thatneed to be accomplished for a particular project. FIG. 9 provides anexample list of tasks. Tasks may be further designated as milestones 108or decisions 109. A milestone may be an important or major task. Adecision may be a task that requires a decision to be made.

A project template 115 may also comprise: files 112, calendar events107, notes 110, messages 111, or people 105, or any combination thereof.Each of these may be designated as related to one or more projects.Files 112 may be a text file, audio file, or video file, or anycombination thereof that is designated as related to one or moreprojects. Calendar events 107 may be appointments on a calendar with astart and end time and can be recurring and include other team members.Notes 110 may be notes created by users. Messages 111 may be text,audio, or video, or any combination thereof that is communicated fromone user to another. People 105 may be information (e.g., name,telephone number, email address, etc.) related to people with whom auser is associated.

Project management system 103 may also comprise various services 110,such as, but not limited to: project template manager 120; ad wordintelligence manager 125; meeting manager 130; notebook manager 135;project timeline manager 140; or conversation manager 145; or anycombination thereof.

Project template manager 120 may allow a user to create a project. Auser may select a project and enter relevant start and/or end dates.Various tasks may then be generated. Project pages may also be generatedwith information related to the tasks, calendar events, discussionforums, links, files, etc. The user may then connect with other users.Details related to the project template manager 120 are described inprocess 200 of FIG. 2.

Ad word intelligence manager 125 may apply logic to words a user choosesin creating project, tasks, files, etc., in order to provide the userwith meaningful advertisements related to what the user is trying toachieve. Details related to the ad word intelligence manager 125 aredescribed in process 300 of FIG. 3.

Meeting manager 130 may allow a user to create a meeting agenda,schedule the meeting, manage the meeting as it is happening; or review apast meeting; or any combination thereof. Details related to the meetingmanager 130 are described in more detail in process 400 of FIG. 4.

Notebook manager 135 may collect notes associated with a project. Thismay include personal notes taken by the user, as well as notes by othersthat have been shared with the user. A note may be text, graphics,audio, video, or a link, or any combination thereof that the user wishesto capture. The note may be marked as related to a project. The user maychoose to share the note with one or more team members, or the user maychoose to keep the note private. Details related to the notebook manager135 are described in process 500 of FIG. 5.

Project timeline manager 140 may allow a user to create and/or adjust atimeline. Details related to the project timeline manager 140 aredescribed in more detail in process 600 of FIG. 6.

Conversation manager 145 may manage communications (e.g., discussions)between one or more users. Messages may or may not be associated withprojects. Messages may be saved as a note attached to a project. Usersmay participate in a message instantly within the project managementsystem 103 if the users are online. Users may also reply to email alertscreated from a message. Details related to the conversation manager 145are described in more detail in process 600 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for utilizing projecttemplates, according to one embodiment. In 210, a user may select anoption to create a new project. In 220, a project setup wizard may bepresented to the user. The project setup wizard may help a user create anew project. Referring to FIG. 31, the project details may be definedand a project image may be uploaded, and a project color may be chosen.As shown in FIG. 32, the project team may also be selected. In addition,the user may define initial project milestones.

In one embodiment, rather than create a new project, a user may simplycopy an existing project and/or components of the project (e.g., team).In other options, a user may browse a gallery of project templates andchoose an already created project template. For example, in 230, a usermay select a project template option. The project templates may beprovided in a project gallery that may have a variety of home and workproject templates that may be categorized by the type of project a userwishes to create. A user may select a sponsored project template or anon-sponsored project template. Sponsored project templates may besponsored by an entity (e.g., business, government, non-profit, etc.)For example, Home Depot may sponsor templates related to homeimprovement. Non-sponsored project templates may be provided by amanager of the project management system 103, or by a third party and donot need to be tied to a specific entity. Project templates may connectexperts or knowledge publishers with users that need to consume andleverage the knowledge.

In 240, the project template selected by the user may be downloaded. In250, the user may enter relevant start and/or end dates. At this point,information may be automatically generated, such as, but not limited to:milestones, tasks, decision points, calendar information, or files, orany combination thereof. The start and end dates inputted by the usermay define the duration of the template. Templates may create defaulttime periods between milestones, tasks, and calendar events that occurin the template. The desired duration of the project then drives thespreading of actual dates used in the template. Some milestones andtasks in the template may have minimum and maximum durations betweeneach other that override the linear spreading of tasks. In an examplewhere the project is building a deck, the task to install the 4″×″4pillars that will support the deck's platform can't be installed untilseven days after the footings have been poured because the concreteneeds to cure. This means that a user would not be able to enter an enddate less than seven days for the entire project because of the requiredtime difference between the two example tasks.

In 260, a user may invite others to the project. For example, contactsfrom Facebook, Linked In, Google, Outlook or any other social networkingor other contact site, or any combination thereof, may be invited. In270, project pages may be automatically generated with various elements,including, but not limited to: tasks, calendar events, discussionforums, e-commerce links, or files, or any combination thereof. Theproject pages are automatically generated using information entered whenthe template creator builds the template. The template creator maydefine the tasks, calendar events, discussion forums, e-commerce links,or files, or any combination thereof that are necessary for a user ofthe template to successfully accomplish the objective of the template.In 280, a user may actively manage the project by interacting, with thetasks, calendar events, discussions, files, messages, etc. as the userparticipates on the user's project and monitors the progress of allactivities (including ones the user does not participate in, but hasaccess to).

FIG. 9 illustrates a user page for a project, according to oneembodiment. A user can create the project by choosing a template forthat project. A user can access a project user page from a user homepage such as the one shown in FIG. 8. In 905, tasks for the project maybe illustrated. Tasks for the user may be populated when the userdownloads the template from the template database. Upon download, a newproject for the user is created. All of the tasks, calendar events,discussion forums, e-commerce links, or files, or any combinationthereof that have been pre-defined to be a part of the downloadedtemplate may now be accessible by the user. These tasks may bepredefined (e.g., by the template sponsor or another entity), and may beinclude other information, such as, but not limited to: helpful hints,knowledge, access to experts, or an e-commerce widget that allows theuser to purchase related goods and services to help get the task done,or any combination thereof. In 910, a calendar (e.g., such as the oneshown in FIG. 11) may be preconfigured to include events, tasks, ormeetings that relate to getting the project done. When the project isset up, the calendar may be automatically set based on the user'scurrent schedule and the time it takes to complete the tasks or events.As explained above, the start and end dates inputted by the user maydefine the duration of the template. Templates may utilize pre-defineddefault time periods between milestones, tasks, and calendar events thatoccur in the template. The desired duration of the project then drivesthe spreading of actual dates used in the template. Some milestones andtasks in the template may have minimum and maximum durations betweeneach other that override the linear spreading of tasks.

In 915, discussions may be configured by the sponsor to have apredefined list of discussion groups that will provide users with theability to chat online with experts, their peers in the program, orother members utilizing the project management system 103. For example,the user may chat with other people to get their thoughts on doing theproject, or a piece of the project, that the user is doing. In 920,files may be preconfigured with any number of audio files, video files,documents, or web site links. The may allow the sponsor to provideinformation such as, but not limited to: “how to” videos, links toonline content, or document templates, or any combination thereof. In925, advertising may be illustrated. As discussed in more detail below,the advertising may change based on the tasks the user is performing. Inaddition, sponsors may control the advertising. In 930, a “people I′mworking with” area may be illustrated. This may be configured to plug inaccess to a sponsor's experts, other people participating in theproject, or any other person, or any combination thereof.

FIG. 10 illustrates another view of a user page, according to anembodiment. Note that whereas FIG. 9 is a project specific page showingthe “Building a Deck” template, FIG. 10 is a user page which displays anaggregation of the entire user's personal and work projects. Detailedinformation for each project in FIG. 10 may be accessed by clicking onthat project's name in the list. Referring to FIG. 10, the user's nameand/or photo may be provided in 1005. In 1010, the user's projects maybe listed, which may include the user's work projects (1015) and theuser's personal projects (1020). In 1025, names and/or photos of peoplethe user is working with may be shown.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, a user's project templates may be unifiedinto one tool through their inclusion in the user's home page. Thisenables a user to manage projects from both his professional andpersonal lives in one place rather than seeking out information atvarious websites, applications, etc. For example, rather than accessingweightwatchers.com to manage his daily diet plan, accessing his son'sBoy Scout troop's web page to see the calendar of events that must thenbe manually enter into his personal calendar, searching for the oldemail sent by his daughter's soccer coach to see the dates they areresponsible for bringing the team's snacks, and accessing a share pointsite through his company's network to access a file for work, the user'shome page may aggregate all of this information and makes it accessiblein one place. When something changes, the update is pushed to the userautomatically within the context of everything else. Additionally,knowledge and tools to help finish all types of projects are alsointegrated together to make completion of all the user's projects moreconvenient. In this way, the user may be more organized and productive,and collaborate more effectively with people with whom they work.

For example, if the user is planning a wedding, the user may have theability to select from a series of wedding planning project templatesthat include information needed to start planning a wedding, such as,but not limited to: predefined milestones to guide the user through thevarious stages of the wedding planning process; predefined tasks thatserve as the “to do” list for the user or other people involved in thewedding planning project; a predefined calendar of events for thewedding based on the timeframe and milestones for the user's wedding;predefined discussion forums and groups that allow the user to askexperts for specific wedding planning tasks or discuss elements of thewedding plan with experts or others who are going through or have gonethrough a similar project; a resource center where the user can accessand share files, including documents, audio and/or video files, andlinks associating with the wedding planning project, or any combinationthereof.

In addition, dynamic content may be pushed to the user (e.g., throughwidgets) to help the user plan the wedding. For example, if there is apredefined task related to choosing flowers, in addition to helpfulhints on what level and type of flowers are typical for a wedding of acertain size, the template may include a widget that provides a toprated florist(s) in the area that specializes in wedding arrangements.The widget may also include the ability to have certain florists bid onthe wedding based on criteria chosen through the widget. The winner maybe notified, and the purchase may be completed online. Similar types ofinformation and services may be provided for other aspects of thewedding, such as, but not limited to: invitations, favors, catering,etc.

As another example, if the user wishes to lose weight, the user maychoose a template that is a 12-week program leading the user through theprocess of losing weight. The template may be provided by the sponsorfor a cost, or provided by the sponsor for free with revenue provided tothe sponsor or the content provider by advertising. The template mayinclude, but is not limited to, the following: the ability for the userto chat with weight loss experts and/or peers that are also trying tolose weight; tasks including buying groceries, measuring body fat,weigh-ins; links to advice regarding various aspects of losing weight;the ability to allow the user to order items related to weight loss(e.g., meals, body fat calipers, exercise equipment, books, etc.) or seewhere items related to weight loss can be bought near the user'slocation; a calendar of pre-defined events (e.g., workout routines,shopping trips, planned meals, links to helpful hints, etc.); discussionforums for users (e.g., related to eating healthy, exercising, orgenerally losing weight); or files in a resource center with various weblinks, documents, and audio and/or video files; or any combinationthereof.

As a further example, if the user wishes to sell a home, the templatemay include information associated with preparing the home for sale andwalking the user through the entire sales process through contractsigning. Tasks may include, but are not limited to: obtaining expertadvice; asking agents questions; or choosing a home inspector (e.g.,using Angie's list); or any combination thereof.

As an additional example, if the user wishes to do a home improvementproject, the template may include information associated with the homeimprovement project. The information may include, but are not limitedto: access to sponsored experts (e.g., Home Depot, Lowes), how to videosand web links; or a calendar of events for completing the homeimprovement project in the desired timeframe (this may includeinformation related to whether the desired timeframe is realistic, withalternate timeframes suggested); or any combination thereof.

As another example, if the user wishes to conduct a fundraiser (e.g.,for the Girl Scouts), the template may include information related tothe specific fundraiser. The information may include, but is not limitedto: access to fundraising experts; access to forums where the user maycommunicate with other volunteers associated with the fundraiser; a listof tasks required to complete the successful fundraiser; or a calendarof events for completing a successful fundraiser; or any combinationthereof.

As an additional example, if the user wishes to do a business project,the template may include information related to the business project,such as responding to a certain type of audit. The information mayinclude, but is not limited to: access to best practice experts (e.g.,PWC, Deloitte, Bain) (e.g., an expert may sponsor a template);documents, links, etc. guiding the user through the audit, such as bestpractice information; tasks to help the user prepare for the audit; orthe audit schedule; or any combination thereof.

Other examples of templates include, but are not limited to: learning anew language; planning a vacation; coaching a sports team;implementation services for a company; running a marathon; running ablood drive; or managing a political campaign; or any combinationthereof.

As indicated earlier, the template may be provided by a sponsor. Thesponsor may be an entity (e.g., a government, business, or non-profit;or the sponsor may be an individual (e.g., a celebrity).

FIG. 3 illustrates a method 300 for using project ad word intelligence,according to an embodiment. Using method 300, ad word intelligence mayhelp connect the user with helpful information, services, and/orprojects related to the goals the user is trying to achieve. Usingmethod 300, as users work on tasks, manage their calendars, managedocuments of files, or communicate with people, information related towhat the user is doing at that point in time may be provided, allowingpartners (e.g., advertisers) to guide specific content to the user in atimely and useful manner. In 310, a user may enter information intoprojects. The information may include, but is not limited to: tasks,calendar events, or discussions, or any combination thereof. In 320, theproject management system 103 may scan the words entered by the user forkey words that match ad words. In 330, ad words may be matched withpotential ad sponsor. In 340, based on an ad word match, an advertisermay push relevant information to the user, including, but not limitedto: help information, tools that may be useful for completing a project(e.g., information needed to complete a home renovation project), or adcontent, or any combination thereof. In 350, the user may interact withthe ad in, for example, the following ways: the user may be taken to theadvertiser web site; additional ads may be presented to the user; toolsthat may be useful for completing a project may be provided to the user;advice may be provided to the user; or product and/or service purchaseoptions may be provided to the user; or any combination thereof. In 360,information may be passed back to the user, such as, but not limited to:tasks, calendar events, or discussions, or any combination thereof.

FIG. 11 is an example screen shot illustrating how ad word intelligencemay be utilized, according to an embodiment. In this example, a user isinteracting with the calendar feature of the project management system103. As the user clicks on or types in information related to a project(e.g., trip to Italy), the project management system 103 may scan thetask for key works and find the words “family”, “vacation”, and “Italy”,and may then show in 1105 various ads related to the trip to Italy. Forexample, ads related to specific tasks or sub-projects (e.g., exactlocations the user will visit) may be shown. In addition, informationmay be provided to the user (e.g., in a pop-up), asking the user if theuser would like to access information related to their project, andspecifically the part of the project the user is working on, asdetermined by the key words. For example, a pop-up may appear that asksthe user if the user would like help: planning the itinerary, bookingthe flights, chatting with a travel expert, and chatting with otherpeople that have traveled to Italy. The chatting may be done through ablog or chat room, as well as done over the phone. If the user decideshe would like help planning the itinerary, a travel site may be shownthat provides the user with a number of itineraries for different toursof Italy. After reviewing the various itineraries, the user may decidehe wishes to start in Nice, France, and end in Rome. From the Italy Tripproject the user created, the user may access the calendar features andenter an event for the first day of the trip entitled “Fly from Dullesto Nice” and for the last day entitled “Fly from Rome to Dulles”.Because the dates for the trip and the arrival and departure cities arenow known, a trip planning sponsor may suggest itineraries or tours thatwork well. In addition, airlines or travel agencies may suggest the bestairfare for the dates and cities selected.

As the user starts adding in additional details (e.g., subtasks) relatedto the trip, through the ad intelligence, additional information may beprovided to the user. For example, if the user ads in the location Luccaon the calendar, a partner(s) may be found to provide the user withoptions for hotels in Lucca. As the dates are already entered, muchhelpful information may be provided (e.g., ads, reviews, list of optionsavailable, etc.) through the partner. For example, a partner could pushan ad to the user regarding an Italian language learning program. Insome embodiment, a template could be offered to the user that had theactual Italian language learning program incorporated. The user may thenbook the hotel, and the details of the booking may be automaticallyadded to the user's calendar. In addition, information about tours ofLucca, places to eat, etc. may be provided. The user may then bookreservations for tours, rental equipment, reservations, etc., and thisinformation may be automatically added to the user's calendar. Otherusers that may be going on the trip will also be able to access thisinformation through many mediums (e.g., personal computers, mobilephones, etc.)

The ad word intelligence may be accomplished by working with thirdparties that wish to advertise to users through the project managementsystem 103. The third parties may provide a catalog of search terms,that when entered through the project management system 103 by the user,will trigger context-specific advertising. For example, Weight Watchersmay identify terms, such as “weight loss”, “scale”, “diet”, etc. Whenusers enter and/or use these terms when entering tasks, calendar events,online conversations, messages, and uploading files, etc., a match maybe triggered with one of the words provided in the catalog of keywordsprovided by the third party. When a match is found, business logic maytrigger the right advertising based on pre-defined conditions that thethird party may identify. For example, the third party may identify abusiness rule that, when the terms “food” or “meal”, and “planning” or“plan” are entered in a task, event, or discussion, an on-screen ad fordeals on Weight Watchers meals the user can purchase in their local areais shown. In addition, through reading IP addresses or other techniques,the user's location may be determined so that the advertising can havelocal or regional context.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example screen shot illustrating how ad wordintelligence may be utilized. For example, if a user is building a deckas a project, one of the tasks may be deciding which type of materialsto use on the deck, as shown in 1205. Note that the tasks may be shownonly for a particular project (e.g., as shown in FIG. 9); or tasks formultiple projects may be shown, listed according to when they are due(e.g., as shown in FIG. 10). When the user accesses this task, in 1210,various information may be shown to the user. For example, knowledgecontent including text, audio files, video files, and documents may beshown (e.g., by a sponsor). In addition, widgets may allow the user tosee various items for sale related to the task, with a e-commerce widgetthat may allow the user to purchase needed goods or services. Inaddition, in 1215, the ad word intelligence may be utilized toillustrate ads related to the specific task the user is working on.

Other examples of utilizing ad word intelligence may include a userentering a recurring calendar event called “Soccer Practice”. At thispoint, sporting goods partners may push ads for soccer sporting gear. Inaddition, a user may enter a project name, task, discussion topic, orupload a file, all of which may provides potential context to anadvertiser about what an individual is about to do. This context ishighly valuable to an advertiser. Another example is a task entitled“schedule oil change”. In this case a coupon from a partner thatprovides oil changes may then be shown to the user, with the ability toschedule the oil change. The scheduled oil change may then be added tothe user's calendar. As another example, a user may enter a taskentitled “spring cleaning”. At this point, partners may push specificadvertising on cleaning supplies to the user. In addition, helpful tips(e.g., safety tips, cleaning tips) may be provided by partners to theuser. The user may even be offered and/or purchase products and/orservices related to the spring cleaning. As a further example, if a userattempted to create a project entitled “organize Girl Scout cookiedrive”, a Girl Scout Cookie Drive project template could be offered tothe user.

FIG. 4 illustrates a method for utilizing meetings, according to anembodiment. A meeting manager may be used by a user to create meetingagendas and reference existing project tasks, files and discussionswithin the context of the meeting agenda. The meeting agenda may beviewed and updated during the meeting by multiple participants if theorganizer allows. In addition, the meeting attendees may have web andvideo conferencing so that all meeting participants may see changes todocuments, etc. in real time. The presence of attendees may also beshown and recorded. In addition, each user may take notes and choose tomake the notes public or private. In 410, the user may select an optionto create a meeting. At this point, as shown in FIG. 13, all past andscheduled meetings for one or more projects may be shown. The user maysort the meetings by meeting owner, meeting date, and/or meeting name.In addition, the user may search meetings by meeting owner, meetingdate, meeting name, and/or meeting attendees. In 420, a meeting schedulescreen may be presented to the user. In 430, the user may enter meetinginformation, such as, but not limited to: date, time, location, callnumber, or invitees, or any combination thereof. In 440, the user mayenter the agenda topics. FIG. 14 illustrates an example meeting screenshot where the date, time, location, call number, invitees, and meetingagenda have been entered. Relevant information may also be provided,such as, but not limited to: files; discussions; tasks; or links; or anycombination thereof. FIG. 15 illustrates an example screen shot whereattendees may be automatically recorded as present for a meeting whentheir presence is detected in the meeting manager. FIG. 15 alsoillustrates meeting topics with project tasks and discussions beingreferenced under topics as well as a new task being added within thecontext of building out the meeting agenda.

Referring back to FIG. 4, in 450, a meeting invitation, perhaps with ameeting agenda, may be sent to invitees. In 460, the user may launch themeeting manager when the meeting begins. In 470, the meeting managerscreen may be presented to all users in the meeting. In 480, the userwho may be the meeting facilitator, may record various information fromthe meeting, including, but not limited to: assigned tasks, discussions,decisions, milestones, create new tasks, or review files, or anycombination thereof. FIGS. 16 and 17 illustrate screen shots where suchinformation may be captured. FIG. 16 illustrates where new tasks,discussions, files, links, etc. may be captured. The meeting facilitatormay need to organize an agenda and may thus drag tasks and decisionsinto the meeting manager space. This may create associations betweenthose objects and the meeting calendar event which may be helpful forfuture references to the meeting. FIG. 17 illustrates how the agendaitems may be updated during the meeting. For example, in FIG. 17, thedue date may be changed (e.g., see 1710), the owner of the task (e.g.,Scope Additional Services related to the bike path, state park andFountain) may be changed (e.g., see 1705), and attachments related tothe listed task may be shown and accessed (e.g., see 1715). In 490, theuser may indicate that the meeting is complete, and the various recordedinformation may be integrated into the project management system 103.For example, in FIG. 18, all agendas for all meetings may be saved. Forexample, the project management system 103 may maintain an audit trailof everything that is happening in a meeting such as decisions that weremade, tasks that were completed and new items added. These are allcaptured with a reference to the meeting name, project and date. When auser pulls up a past meeting agenda they will see all the meetingactivity and notes related to it. In 495, meeting minutes may bedistributed and/or otherwise made available to participants.

For example, if a user and his team wish to hold a meeting, during thetwo weeks leading up to the meeting, the users may identify topics fortheir meeting. One or more facilitators may be designated. Once themeeting has taken place, if some users have made their notes available,other users may be able to access these notes, if the other users aregiven permission (whether or not the other users participated in themeeting). Users may access these notes through the meeting manager andselect the meeting agenda, which may include all the tasks, topics,decisions, comments and notes that were captured during the meeting. Auser may also search the project notebook to retrieve notes pertainingto projects, topics, dates or text. If a user joins mid-meeting, and haspermission to access notes, the user may see what happened in themeeting before the user joined. In addition, because the agenda has beenupdated and added to during the meeting, if a user misses a meeting, theuser can see what happened in each agenda item, and perhaps accessvarious users' notes to determine the thought process and decisions ofthe meeting. Managers may also use the agendas and notes to train orevaluate other users. In addition, managers may add information to theagendas or minutes to offer additional insight for consideration.

FIG. 5 illustrates a notebook option, according to an embodiment. Byutilizing the notebook option, a user may be able to use a note featurewith the collaboration and visibility provided by the project managementsystem 103. A user may be able to capture a note using any computer orelectronic device through emailing, texting, or entering notes to aproject. The project management system 103 may be utilized to view,edit, and record the notes. In 510, the user can select an option toenter a note in the notebook. The user may do this, for example, byusing the “Add a new note” option shown on FIG. 19. In 520, the user maybe presented with the note entry screen. In 530, the user may enter thenote, for example, as text, audio, URL, image, etc. In 540, the user mayassign the note to a project. The user may also enter the note asrelated to a project object, such as a task, file, discussion, decision,milestone, calendar event, etc. In 550, the user may make the notepublic or private, or public and/or private with respect to only certainindividuals. In 560, the user may choose to view notes. For example, theuser may view all the user's notes related to a project. Or the user mayview all viewable (e.g., public—allowing the user to view) related tothe project. For example, FIG. 19 illustrates a list of notes, with anassociated project name. (Notes, similar to tasks, calendar, and otherinformation, may be accessed by tabs at the top of the user's projectpage. For example, see the tabs listed at the top of FIG. 19.) Notes maybe added, edited and viewed utilizing any type of computer (e.g.,laptop, desktop, iPad, iPhone, etc.).

FIG. 20 illustrates a list of notes under various project names. Sharednotes as well as user notes may be listed. FIGS. 21-22 illustrate set upand view of a note where various parts of the note are private andvarious parts are public. FIGS. 20-22 may be accessed utilizing thescreen illustrated in FIG. 19. FIG. 19 shows an index of “all my notes”and “notes shared with me” by topic. The user may be able to search hernotebook by project, topic, date or text. In this case, the user issearching a range of dates. When the user selects an entry, the user mayaccess the note page for that entry, which may include the user's notesand notes shared with the user pertaining to that entry. FIG. 21illustrates an example where notes taken pertaining to a particularproject are shown. The user is taken into the project notebook for theWinter Street Park project and the entry is Bike Trail. FIG. 20illustrates a wireframe for the notebook on an iPad where the user isnavigating through all their entries and viewing all the entries. Thisis an alternate notebook view which may include the user's compilednotebook across all projects.

For example, if two coworkers are taking notes during a project with alarge group of people, the two coworkers may wish to take and sharenotes with only each other during the meeting. In addition, eachcoworker may make only personal notes that only he or she wishes to beable to access after the meeting.

As another example, if a family has a gift swap every year, variousfamily members may share hints for what they would like, as well aslinks, pictures, or text information. Private notes may then be added byfamily members as suggestions for gifts for other family members. Theprivate notes could be viewed by only the persons the note author wishesto see the note.

As a further example, a user could add a recipe as a note to a familygathering project. Another user, who is making the recipe, may add noteson how to make the recipe better, and keep those comments private.

FIG. 23 sets forth additional example notes with the private/publicfeature incorporated. As shown in FIG. 23, when a user is making a newnote, the user can choose to make the entire entry private or just aportion of it private. For example a soccer coach may share with allparents some notes on parent drop off and pickup from practice with somesimple do's and do not's, such as: be on time, do not leave your childat the field for practice if the coach is not there, etc. The coach mayalso include a private note about Jill's pickup situation as a personalreminder she is not to be released to her dad. The coach may thus shareall the notes except he would mark the one about Jill as private. Theother parents would see all the do and do not's but not the note aboutJill. However, the couch when viewing this entry would see all of them.Another example is that the couch, while watching select team tryouts,may want to capture some video with notes about his players' strengthsand improvement areas. The coach may wish to mark this entire sectionPlayer Skill Assessment as private, as he would not want the parentsseeing his observations about the entire team. Later he may choose to goin and share Maggie's assessment with her parents only and Jennifer'swith her parents only.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow chart for a project timeline feature,according to an embodiment. FIG. 24 illustrates a view of a user pagewhere the elements of a timeline are shown, according to an embodiment.The elements on the timeline (e.g. milestone flags, decision diamonds,and circles that represent tasks) may be placed on the timeline throughthe information entered into the project management system 103 relatedto project, due dates, etc. The elements appear on the timeline based onthe detail entered for the milestones, decision points, and tasks, aswell as based on filter criteria set for the screen such as time periodand project. A user may be presented with all the activities on atimeline, as well as with areas where the user should focus. A user mayview the suggested timeline and edit the timeline as appropriate. Flags2405 may illustrate milestones. Diamonds 2410 may illustrate decisions.Circles may illustrate a histogram representation of tasks that must bedone by certain dates based on the due date of the project. The flags,diamonds and circles that are filled-in may represent milestones,decisions and tasks that are completed. The thick line 2420 ranging fromApril to October '11 may represent a time period filter that the userhas turned on for the timeline display. All information and datadisplayed for the user respects the time line filter control. The whitearrow 2425 on either side of the thick line 2420 may represent theability to expand or condense the timeline.

Referring back to FIG. 6, in 610, a user may select a time incrementbased on a cluster of activity, or a time increment can be preset andautomatically generated. For example, in FIG. 24, the time increment canbe January 2011 to February 2012. In 620, a user may change theincrement of the timeline (e.g., from one month to one week). In 630,the user may change the range of the timeline (e.g., by dragging left orright on the timeline). In 640, the user may move the highlighted rangecontrol forward and backwards. In 650, any data associated with thetimeline, including tasks, files, discussions, etc. may by dynamicallyfiltered by an adjustments to the timeline. The thick line 2420 is asliding definition of time. Line 2420 can span increments of days,weeks, and months depending on what the user has selected. The number ofincrements line 2420 spans is defined by the user. The user can expandor reduce each end of line 2420 to increase or decrease the number ofincrements for the filter to cover. The expansion and reduction ispossible by hovering on line 2420 with a mouse and moving either end inthe desired direction. On a touch screen line 2420 is expanded orreduced by pinching mechanics. If the user desires line 2420 to maintainthe same number of time increments but be moved to a different timespan, the user can click on line 2420 and drag it to the new desiredlocation. Similar action is possible on a touch screen.

In 660, the user may drag tasks, people, etc. to increments along thetimeline. This may create related records with that time increment autopopulated. For example, a task may show up overdue because it was dueyesterday June 20^(th). It is now known that the task does not need tobe completed until next week on June 28th. The current timeline filtercontrol is set to span the last three days and the next three days orJune 17-June 22. June 28^(th) is shown in the timeline but the span ofline 2420 does not include June 28^(th). The user drags the task fromthe list below the timeline by clicking on the task name and then movingthe mouse to the June 28^(th) date increment where they release themouse click. The due date of the task now changes to June 28^(th) andgradually fade from view because it is outside of the time filtercontrol set by line 2420.

By using the timeline, users may be able to visually see key decisionpoints that need to be made (with their due dates) going forward, andalso review when key decision points were made in the past. Supportingreasons may also be attached to the decisions.

In addition, milestones may be shown on the timeline. Milestones may becreated from the add new bar within a project specific page. Themilestones may be specific points in time identified on the project or agrouping of tasks for which completion represent an important datewithin the project. The timeline thus allows team members to visuallysee milestones across a timeline and identify periods of times wherethere are clusters deserving of focus. Milestone icons on the timelinemay be clicked on or hovered over to obtain more detailed informationabout the milestone. If the milestone is a group of tasks, the tasksspecific to the milestone may be shown in the task display area of thescreen.

Tasks may be represented on the timeline differently from decisions andmilestones. They may be generated by the user either from the home pageor a project specific page. The task completion date shows when thingswere done on the project or when things are due in the future.

All past conversations, messages, project discussion activities, andtask comments within a project may be represented on the timeline toreflect volume of activity. The history of when files were posted to aproject over a time scale may also be provided. This information may beaccessible by a separate icon and may be turned on or off in conjunctionwith tasks. This may be show to illustrate clusters of activity volumeto better understand the progression of how people have worked on theproject and where to focus attention when replication a repeatableproject.

The timeline may be divided into increment blocks across the top of thescreen (e.g., 14 increment blocks). These increment blocks may change byday, week, or month, so that the timeline shows various periods (e.g.,14 days, 14 weeks, 14 months). If the project is longer than theincrement blocks shown, an all button may show the entire project timeperiod. The user may zoom in and out by changing the day, week, months,or all scale. The user may view periods of time in the past and/or thefuture.

The user may select any incremental amount of time within any scale.This may be around a date range the user cares about (e.g., the nextmonth or a period with a high activity of tasks or messaging volume). Ifthe user clicks on one month and then changes the scale from month toweek, the user may then see the 14 weeks around that month with theweeks that fall in the previously selected month highlighted as activefor the time filter control. Below the timeline, all of the tasks andother activities within the highlighted time period may appear forprogressive detailed investigation and the volume of activity previouslycondensed to a monthly view may be dispersed into weekly periods ofactivity. By dragging one end of the timeline or pinching both ends ofthe multi-week highlighted area, the user may condense the timeline tofewer weeks or expand it to more weeks than what was originally returnedwhen the user clicked on one month. The decisions to stretch, condense,or otherwise change the time scale of the increments may be based onvolume of activity the user is seeing within the time frame the user islooking at. As the user changes the time period, the information shownis based on the time period selected.

In some embodiments, the user may aggregate information related to someor all of the user's projects (e.g., work projects and/or personalprojects). This multi-project view may be specific to the user'sresponsibilities and filtering desires, which may help the user identifyupcoming busy periods and keep track of past performance. The user maysee clusters of busy periods and select them for further inspection. Thetasks due in the period of time they selected are returned for furtherinvestigation in progressive levels of detail. Milestones and decisions(e.g., shown as icons) across all of the chosen projects may beaggregated into the timeline view. The icons may be drilled down forfurther information.

In some embodiments, the timeline may show the user the history of theirmessaging patterns to help the user find past messages posted by certainindividuals. The user may set a time period for history viewing in theconversation center (also referred to as message center) (see FIG. 7)based on the time period the user remembers, or the user may investigatespikes in message volume at certain points in time. If the user selectsa time period, details related to the messages within that time periodmay be provided, with additional detail available for each message.

FIG. 7 illustrates a conversation management feature, according to anembodiment. Using the conversation management feature, conversations maybe recorded and incorporated into a project. In this way, allconversations related to a project may be available to some or all teammembers of the project, or other individuals (e.g., managers, etc.) In710, from within a project, a user may click on a conversation tab. In720, the user may create a new project conversation, selecting whichtype (e.g., text, audio, or video, or any combination thereof), and mayinvite team members. In 730, members are notified of the conversationvia an alert, email, text, etc. A user may join the conversation byresponding. In 740, the conversation is automatically recorded anddesignated as related to the project. In 750, the user may select someor all of the conversation and turn it into a task, decision, note,calendar event, etc. In 760, the user may attach a file to theconversation and the file may be saved with the conversation and alsodesignated as related to the project. In 770, the user may searchthrough a conversation database and find previous conversations based onparticipants, topics, attached files, date, text, etc.

FIGS. 25-29 illustrate various features managed by the conversationmanager 145. Team members may have conversations around specific projecttopics. For example, if a team is working on a fundraiser, and wishes todiscuss how to increase the number of volunteers, a user may initiate aconversation entitled “Increase Number of Volunteers”. The user mayselect members of the team, as well as others, to include in theconversation. When members are added to a conversation, they may benotified (e.g., pop-up; alert; email; text, etc.). FIG. 25 illustrates alist of notifications for conversations for which a particular user isinvited. FIGS. 25 and 29 also show the interaction in a textconversation. For example, if a team member is on the road and only hasaccess to their mobile device during the conversation, the team membermay reply to the conversation by email and their message will becomepart of the conversation. If a user responds to the notification fromwithin the project management system 103, the user may be taken directlyto the conversation. All conversations may be recorded and designated asrelated to the project.

FIG. 26 illustrates how a user may initiate a conversation with a personby clicking on the person's picture. In addition, FIG. 26 illustrateshow icons can be clicked to allow a user to comment on a task, calendarevent, note, decision, etc. For example, if a user adds a task “SubmitFinal Edits to Budget”, other users may comment on the task. All of thecomments may be saved and designated as related to the task and may besearched or viewed at any time. For example, FIG. 27 illustrates how allconversations related to a particular project may be shown.

Users may also have conversations outside of the context of a project.These conversations may be turned into a project conversation at anytime. For example, if two people are chatting about the weather anddecide to have a discussion about a project, the users may do this.

FIG. 28 illustrates how audio conversations, video conversations, or webconversations (e.g., Web Ex, Joinme, LiveMeeting), or any combinationthereof, may be initiated within the context of a project. In this way,documents that are shared during the meeting, as well as documentsmarked up during the meeting, that are shown during the meeting, may besaved as related to the project. In this way, Web conferences, videos,and marked up files may be saved as a record with the project.

A conversation may be turned into a task, calendar event, note,decision, etc by choosing the relevant option. For example, if aconversation is to be turned into a decision, the user can choose thisoption, and a decision may be created that includes all of theconversation in its original form. As another example, if several teammembers are on a video conversation, and decide that there is a followup action, a user may create a task from the video chat. Theconversation will automatically be linked to the task.

In addition, files may be associated with conversations. For example, ifusers are having a conversation about the budget, a budget spreadsheetmay be attached to the conversation.

Users may search for any conversation based upon, for example:participants; date of conversation; text associated with theconversation; tags; associated documents, etc., or any combinationthereof.

While various embodiments have been described above, it should beunderstood that they have been presented by way of example and notlimitation. It will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevantart(s) that various changes in form and detail can be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope. In fact, after reading theabove description, it will be apparent to one skilled in the relevantart(s) how to implement alternative embodiments. Thus, the presentembodiments should not be limited by any of the above-describedembodiments.

In addition, it should be understood that any figures which highlightthe functionality and advantages are presented for example purposesonly. The disclosed methodology and system are each sufficientlyflexible and configurable such that they may be utilized in ways otherthan those shown.

Further, the purpose of the Abstract of the Disclosure is to enable theU.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, andespecially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art whoare not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determinequickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of thetechnical disclosure of the application. The Abstract of the Disclosureis not intended to be limiting as to the scope of the present inventionin any way.

It should also be noted that the terms “a”, “an”, “the”, “said”, etc.signify “at least one” or “the at least one” in the specification,claims and drawings.

Finally, it is the applicant's intent that only claims that include theexpress language “means for” or “step for” be interpreted under 35U.S.C. 112, paragraph 6. Claims that do not expressly include the phrase“means for” or “step for” are not to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112,paragraph 6.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for managing at least one projectfor at least one entity, comprising: accepting at least two projecttemplates from at least one project database of the at least one entity,the project database in communication with at least one processingdevice, each project template comprising at least one task, the at leastone task comprising at least one item that needs to be accomplished forat least one project, the at least one project database comprisingproject templates categorized by type of project; buying at least one ofthe at least two project templates from at least one third party entity;accepting at least one start date and/or at least one end date for eachproject template; automatically generating at least one project page foreach project template with general project template information relatedto each project template; accepting user information from at least twousers related to each project page, the user information comprisinginteractions of the at least two users with: the at least one task, theat least one item that needs to be accomplished; at least one file; andat least one discussion forum; and aggregating the general projectinformation and the user information related to all project pages in theat least one project database and allowing the at least two users toaccess aggregated information related to the project pages utilized bythe at least two users in the at least one project database from oneuser interface in order to capture personal productivity information andgroup collaboration information related to the project pages utilized bythe at least two users.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at leastone project template is a sponsored project template sponsored by athird party entity.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least oneproject template is a non-sponsored project template sponsored by atleast one entity controlling the at least one project database.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the information related to the projecttemplates comprises: at least one milestone; at least one decisionpoint; at least one audio and/or video file; at least one document; atleast one meeting; at least one calendar event; at least one discussionforum; at least one conversation; at least one note; or at least onelink; or any combination thereof.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein theinformation related to the project templates is integrated with at leastone user's calendar.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the informationrelated to the project templates comprises: at least one calendar event;or at least one meeting; or any combination thereof.
 7. The method ofclaim 5, wherein the information related to the project templates areintegrated into the at least one user's calendar based on the at leastone user's current schedule and the time it takes to complete theinformation related to the project templates.
 8. The method of claim 5,wherein the at least one user's calendar comprises information from atleast one work project template and at least one personal projecttemplate.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one contact from atleast one user's third party service is invited to access at least oneproject template.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least onecontact is allowed access to at least one piece of the informationrelated to the at least one project template based upon at least oneprivacy setting.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein advertising isgenerated based upon at least one piece of information related to atleast one project that is currently being utilized by at least one user.12. The method of claim 1, wherein sponsor-generated information isprovided to at least one user based upon at least one piece ofinformation related to at least one project that is currently beingutilized by the at least one user.
 13. The method of claim 5, whereintasks, calendar events and meetings related to the project templates areshown on the at least one user's calendar.
 14. The method of claim 1,wherein at least one meeting related to the project templates isorganized utilizing the user interface.
 15. The method of claim 14,wherein at least one agenda for the at least one organized meetingcomprises: task and/or subtask information to be discussed at the atleast one meeting; documents, links, audio and/or video files, or anycombination thereof related to the task and/or subtask information to bediscussed at the at least one meeting; or conversations to be discussedat the at least one meeting; or any combination thereof.
 16. The methodof claim 15, wherein the at least one agenda is edited during the atleast one meeting.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein a record of theat least one organized meeting is kept, comprising: task and/or subtaskinformation discussed at the at least one meeting; documents, links,audio and/or video files, or any combination thereof related to the taskand/or subtask information discussed at the at least one meeting; orconversations discussed at the at least one meeting; or any combinationthereof.
 18. The method of claim 1, wherein notes related to the projecttemplates are shown in at least one notebook aggregating all notes inall project templates.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the notescomprise: text, audio; or video; or any combination thereof.
 20. Themethod of claim 18, wherein the at least one user is able to navigatethrough the notes by project; meeting topic; author; or date; or anycombination thereof.
 21. The method of claim 18, wherein at least onecontact is allowed access to at least one note related to the at leastone project template based upon at least one privacy setting.
 22. Themethod of claim 21, wherein different contacts within at least one teamfor at least one team project are given access to different notesrelated to the at least one team project.
 23. The method of claim 5,wherein at least one timeline illustrates information related to theproject templates.
 24. The method of claim 23, wherein users are able tovisualize tasks, calendar events, and meetings related to the projecttemplates.
 25. The method of claim 24, wherein tasks comprise decisionpoints and/or milestones.
 26. The method of claim 25, wherein tasks,decision points, milestones, calendar events, and meetings areillustrates on the at least one timeline using different symbols suchthat the user can visualize when such tasks, decision points,milestones, calendar events, and meetings are taking place or due. 27.The method of claim 1, wherein conversations related to the projecttemplates are shown in at least one meeting center aggregating allconversations for all project templates.
 28. The method of claim 27,wherein the at least one user is able to navigate through theconversations by project or date.
 29. The method of claim 27, wherein atleast one contact is allowed access to at least one conversation relatedto the at least one project template based upon at least one privacysetting.
 30. The method of claim 27, wherein different contacts withinat least one team for at least one team project are given access todifferent conversations related to the at least one team project. 31.The method of claim 2, wherein project templates are bought utilizing amarketplace hosting sponsored and/or non-sponsored templates.
 32. Themethod of claim 10, further comprising: organizing at least one meetingrelated to the at least two project templates; and maintaining at leastone audit trail of the at least one meeting; the at least one audittrail comprising: attendees detected at the at least one meeting; taskinformation discussed at the at least one meeting; conversationsdiscussed at the at least one meeting; decisions made at the at leastone meeting; notes taken for the at least one meeting; and new itemsadded at the at least one meeting.
 33. The method of claim 1, wherein atleast one third party entity template comprises: helpful hints,knowledge, access to experts, predefined tasks, predefined calendarevents, predefined files, and dynamic links to third party services andresources.
 34. The method of claim 1, further comprising: connecting atleast one user to at least one product and/or at least one servicerelated to the project template using an e-commerce widget that allowsthe at least one user to purchase the at least one produce and/or the atleast one service.
 35. The method of claim 34, wherein the e-commercewidget allows venders to bid to provide products and/or services, andwherein winners of bids complete the sale using the e-commerce widget.36. A system for managing at least one project, comprising: at least oneprocessor device configured for: accepting at least two projecttemplates from at least one project database of the at least one entity,the project database in communication with at least one processingdevice, each project template comprising at least one task, the at leastone task comprising at least one item that needs to be accomplished forat least one project, the at least one project database comprisingproject templates categorized by type of project; buying at least one ofthe at least two project templates from a third party entity; acceptingat least one start date and/or at least one end date for each projecttemplate; automatically generating at least one project page for eachproject template with general project template information related toeach project template; accepting user information from at least twousers related to each project page, the user information comprisinginteractions of the at least two users with: the at least one task, theat least one item that needs to be accomplished; at least one file; andat least one discussion forum; and aggregating the general projectinformation and the user information related to all project pages in theat least one project database and allowing the at least two users toaccess aggregated information related to the project pages utilized bythe at least two users in the at least one project database from oneuser interface in order to capture personal productivity information andgroup collaboration information related to the project pages utilized bythe at least two users.
 37. The system of claim 36, wherein the at leastone project template is a sponsored project template sponsored by athird party entity.
 38. The system of claim 36, wherein the at least oneproject template is a non-sponsored project template sponsored by atleast one entity controlling the at least one project database.
 39. Thesystem of claim 36, wherein the information related to the projecttemplates comprises: at least one milestone; at least one decisionpoint; at least one audio and/or video file; at least one document; atleast one meeting; at least one calendar event; at least one discussionforum; at least one conversation; at least one note; or at least onelink; or any combination thereof.
 40. The system of claim 36, whereinthe information related to the project templates is integrated with atleast one user's calendar.
 41. The system of claim 40, wherein theinformation related to the project templates comprises: at least onecalendar event; at least one task; or at least one meeting; or anycombination thereof.
 42. The system of claim 36, wherein the informationrelated to the project templates are integrated into the at least oneuser's calendar based on the at least one user's current schedule andthe time it takes to complete the information related to the projecttemplates.
 43. The system of claim 40, wherein the at least one user'scalendar comprises information from at least one work project templateand at least one personal project template.
 44. The system of claim 36,wherein at least one contact from at least one user's third partyservice is invited to access at least one project template.
 45. Thesystem of claim 44, wherein the at least one contact is allowed accessto at least one piece of the information related to the at least oneproject template based upon at least one privacy setting.
 46. The systemof claim 36, wherein advertising is generated based upon at least onepiece of information related to at least one project that is currentlybeing utilized by at least one user.
 47. The system of claim 36, whereinsponsor-generated information is provided to at least one user basedupon at least one piece of information related to at least one projectthat is currently being utilized by the at least one user.
 48. Thesystem of claim 40, wherein tasks, calendar events and meetings relatedto the project templates are shown on the at least one user's calendar.49. The system of claim 36, wherein at least one meeting related to theproject templates is organized utilizing the user interface.
 50. Thesystem of claim 49, wherein at least one agenda for the at least oneorganized meeting comprises: task and/or subtask information to bediscussed at the at least one meeting; documents, links, audio and/orvideo files, or any combination thereof related to the task and/orsubtask information to be discussed at the at least one meeting; orconversations to be discussed at the at least one meeting; or anycombination thereof.
 51. The system of claim 49, wherein the at leastone agenda is edited during the at least one meeting.
 52. The system ofclaim 51, wherein a record of the at least one organized meeting iskept, comprising: task and/or subtask information discussed at the atleast one meeting; documents, links, audio and/or video files, or anycombination thereof related to the task and/or subtask informationdiscussed at the at least one meeting; or conversations discussed at theat least one meeting; or any combination thereof.
 53. The system ofclaim 36, wherein notes related to the project templates are shown in atleast one notebook aggregating all notes in all project templates. 54.The system of claim 53, wherein the notes comprise: text, audio; orvideo; or any combination thereof.
 55. The system of claim 53, whereinthe at least one user is able to navigate through the notes by project;meeting topic; author; or date; or any combination thereof.
 56. Thesystem of claim 53, wherein at least one contact is allowed access to atleast one note related to the at least one project template based uponat least one privacy setting.
 57. The system of claim 56, whereindifferent contacts within at least one team for at least one teamproject are given access to different notes related to the at least oneteam project.
 58. The system of claim 40, wherein at least one timelineillustrates information related to the project templates.
 59. The systemof claim 58, wherein users are able to visualize tasks, calendar events,and meetings related to the project templates.
 60. The system of claim59, wherein tasks comprise decision points and/or milestones.
 61. Thesystem of claim 60, wherein tasks, decision points, milestones, calendarevents, and meetings are illustrates on the at least one timeline usingdifferent symbols such that the user can visualize when such tasks,decision points, milestones, calendar events, and meetings are takingplace or due.
 62. The system of claim 36, wherein conversations relatedto the project templates are shown in at least one meeting centeraggregating all conversations for all project templates.
 63. The systemof claim 62, wherein the at least one user is able to navigate throughthe conversations by project or date.
 64. The system of claim 62,wherein at least one contact is allowed access to at least oneconversation related to the at least one project template based upon atleast one privacy setting.
 65. The system of claim 62, wherein differentcontacts within at least one team for at least one team project aregiven access to different conversations related to the at least one teamproject.
 66. The system of claim 37, wherein project templates arebought utilizing a marketplace hosting sponsored and/or non-sponsoredtemplates.
 67. The system of claim 36, wherein the at least oneprocessor device is further configured for: organizing at least onemeeting related to the at least two project templates; and maintainingat least one audit trail of the at least one meeting; the at least oneaudit trail comprising: attendees detected at the at least one meeting;task subtask information discussed at the at least one meeting;conversations discussed at the at least one meeting; decisions made atthe at least one meeting; notes taken for the at least one meeting; andnew items added at the at least one meeting.
 68. The system of claim 36,wherein at least one third party entity template comprises: helpfulhints, knowledge, access to experts, predefined tasks, predefinedcalendar events, predefined files, and dynamic links to third partyservices and resources.
 69. The system of claim 36, wherein the at leastone processor device is further configured for: connecting at least oneuser to at least one product and/or at least one service related to theproject template using an e-commerce widget that allows the at least oneuser to purchase the at least one produce and/or the at least oneservice.
 70. The system of claim 69, wherein the e-commerce widgetallows venders to bid to provide products and/or services, and whereinwinners of bids complete the sale using the e-commerce widget.